EMPLOYEE RETENTION

SUBMITTED BY:
GROUP-5, NMP29, SECTION - A
Akhilesh Purohit
Arun Saraswat
Dipesh Kumar
Gagandeep Singh

29NMP06
29NMP15
29NMP24
29NMP27

Kalra
Nishu Jain
Sanjay Yadav

29NMP41
29NMP50

ACKNOWLEDEGEMENT

We would like to express our gratitude and sincere thanks to our

Project Guide, Prof. J.K. JAIN, MDI GURGAON, for instilling confidence in us to
carry out this study and extending valuable guidance and encouragement
from time to time, without which it would not have been possible to
undertake and complete this project.
We extend our gratitude, to Mr. KETAN BHATT, HR,IDEA CELLULAR for
his kind co-ordination and support. Last but not the least our colleagues for
their valuable comments and suggestions for making this a good learning
experience for us.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Employee Retention
Employee retention is a systematic effort by employers to create and foster
an environment that encourages current employees to remain employed by
having policies and practices in place that address their diverse needs. A
strong retention strategy becomes a powerful recruitment tool.
Retention of key employees is critical to the long-term health and success of
any organization. It is a known fact that retaining your best employees
ensures customer satisfaction, increased product sales, satisfied colleagues
and reporting staff, effective succession planning and deeply imbedded
organizational knowledge and learning.
Employee retention matters as organizational issues such as training time
and investment; lost knowledge; insecure employees and a costly candidate
search are involved. Hence failing to retain a key employee is a costly
proposition for an organization. Various estimates suggest that losing a
middle manager in most organizations costs up to five times of his salary.

Intelligent employers always realize the importance of retaining the best

talent. Retaining talent has never been so important in the Indian scenario;
however, things have changed in recent years. In prominent Indian metros at
least, there is no dearth of opportunities for the best in the business, or even
for the second or the third best. Retention of key employees and treating
attrition troubles has never been so important to companies.
In an intensely competitive environment, where HR managers are poaching
from each other, organizations can either hold on to their employees tight or
lose them to competition. For gone are the days, when employees would
stick to an employer for years for want of a better choice. Now, opportunities
abound.

In India, there are few sectors where the attrition level is much larger
compared to other sectors. For example IT sector and BPO. Whereas there
are organizations like Air India, HAL, DRDO, BARC where the attrition is
nearly 5% or less than that.
In fact, some reports suggest that attrition levels in IT companies are as high
as 40 per- cent. The only way out is to develop appropriate retention
strategies.
Though BPO industry shoots ahead at 40 to 50 percent a year, it is now
losing 35 to 40 percent of its 350,000-odd employees as well.

INTRODUCTION
"Employees do not leave companies, they leave Managers"

Wherever the macro trends are headed, the ability to engage and retain
talented employees is a critical skill for managers. Here are six reasons good
employees quit:
1) No Vision
Most employees dont get out of bed each morning trying to hit a profit
number. In the majority of companies there are only a handful of people that
truly care about it or, in some cases, even understand exactly what it means
to hit that number. As a manager, dont confuse your financial objectives
with vision. Vision feeds financials and not the other way around.
For example, Walt Disney was the master of painting a compelling vision of
the future. Today, Walt Disneys vision is worth $128 billion and is his
company is the largest media conglomerate in the world. Successful
managers sell their employees on a vision of the future.

2) No Connection To The Big Picture

Gallup concludes that The best workplaces give their employees a sense of
purpose, help them feel they belong, and enable them to make a difference.
One example of this dynamic is Google. While almost no one understands
exactly how Googles search engine works, its mission is clear: to organize
the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful. It is a
simple, actionable, and meaningful connection to the huge company.
Successful companies and managers understand that business strategies
may change, but a mission does not.
3) No Empathy
No one joining the workforce today expects to get a gold Rolex after 50 years
with the same company. Employers let hundreds and thousands of people go
each year while employees are just as likely to leave companies for other
opportunities. Generally speaking, there is very little loyalty on either side.
But there is an almost ridiculously simple and inexpensive solution for that
problem: Take the time to listen to your people.
This is not just talk therapy they should leave the conversation believing
that you will take whatever action may be helpful and possible or at least
logically explain why nothing can be done. But by leaving your door open to
employee concerns and suggestions, leaders encourage them to feel that
they have a stake in an organization that considers them important and
cares enough to listen.
4) No (Effective) Motivation

In his 2009 book Drive, author Daniel Pink examined decades of social
experiments that described the phenomenon that many had experienced in
terms of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators. The extrinsic motivators
consist of traditional carrot and stick rewards such as cash bonuses or
punishment the reward environment in which waiters work.
The intrinsic motivators are internal desires to do good work or create a
successful product the goal of many people working in the theatre. Pinks
argument is that, in the modern workplace, the extrinsic system of rewards
is often a less effective motivator, but one on which too many managers still
rely. In fact, there is no greater myth in managing a team or company than
believing financial compensation is a sufficient incentive to engage and
retain top talent and drive high performance.
5) No Future
In her Forbes article What Employers Need To Know About The Class of
2012, Jacquelyn Smith cites a recent study that shows that the majority of
graduating students are looking for career advancement over anything else.
This is certainly not a new concept, but a big disconnect from todays burn
and churn, transient employment market.
Creating career paths that are well communicated and understood by
employees is not something most companies do well. Even in the best-case
scenario where managers are holding regular performance reviews with their
employee,

employees

often

dont

understand

how

to

move

either

horizontally or vertically in an organization. Of course, not every employee is

going to end up as the CEO. Likewise, a person who is brilliant at product
design wont necessarily succeed in sales. But, for any employee that is
worth retaining, a manager must make clear to them how and where they
can move forward on their career path.

6) No Fun
For many employees, instant gratification is the new norm. The evolution of
film, television, the internet, social media, and handheld devices means that
everything is on demand all the time and wherever we may be. As a result,
putting in eight straight hours of work at the same desk is less and less
attractive to many employees. But this doesnt mean the work force is lazier,
its because defining work in such a traditional manner doesnt make sense
to employees in todays constantly interconnected and fast-paced world.
For businesses, this means that attracting, engaging, and retaining top talent
depends on reinventing their work environments, blurring the line between
work and play. Companies must embrace a culture of increased autonomy
and innovation, and engage employees around a powerful mission and
purpose.

NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION

1. Hiring is not an easy process: The HR Professional shortlists few
individuals from a large pool of talent, conducts preliminary
interviews and eventually forwards it to the respective line
managers who further grill them to judge whether they are fit for
the organization or not. Recruiting the right candidate is a time
consuming process.

2. An organization invests time and money in grooming an

individual and make him ready to work and understand the
corporate culture: A new joinee is completely raw and the
management really has to work hard to train him for his overall
development. It is a complete wastage of time and money when an
individual leaves an organization all of a sudden. The HR has to
start the recruitment process all over again for the same vacancy; a
mere duplication of work. Finding a right employee for an
organization is a tedious job and all efforts simply go waste when
the employee leaves.

3. When an individual resigns from his present organization, it

is more likely that he would join the competitors: In such
cases, employees tend to take all the strategies, policies from the
current organization to the new one. Individuals take all the
important data, information and statistics to their new organization
and in some cases even leak the secrets of the previous
organization. To avoid such cases, it is essential that the new joinee

is made to sign a document which stops him from passing on any

information even if he leaves the organization. Strict policy should
be made which prevents the employees to join the competitors. This
is an effective way to retain the employees.

4. The employees working for a longer period of time are more

familiar with the companys policies, guidelines and thus
they adjust better: They perform better than individuals who
change jobs frequently. Employees who spend a considerable time
in an organization know the organization in and out and thus are in
a position to contribute effectively.

5. Every individual needs time to adjust with others: One needs

time to know his team members well, be friendly with them and
eventually trust them. Organizations are always benefited when the
employees are compatible with each other and discuss things
among themselves to come out with something beneficial for all.
When a new individual replaces an existing employee, adjustment
problems crop up. Individuals find it really difficult to establish a
comfort level with the other person. After striking a rapport with an
existing employee, it is a challenge for the employees to adjust with
someone new and most importantly trust him. It is a human
tendency to compare a new joiner with the previous employees and
always find faults in him.

6. It has been observed that individuals sticking to an

organization for a longer span are more loyal towards the

management and the organization: They enjoy all kinds of

benefits from the organization and as a result are more attached to
it. They hardly badmouth their organization and always think in
favor of the management. For them the organization comes first
and all other things later.

7. It is essential for the organization to retain the valuable

employees showing potential: Every organization needs
hardworking and talented employees who can really come out with
something creative and different. No organization can survive if all
the top performers quit. It is essential for the organization to retain
those employees who really work hard and are indispensable for the
system.
The management must understand the difference between a valuable
employee and an employee who doesnt contribute much to the
organization. Sincere efforts must be made to encourage the employees so
that they stay happy in the current organization and do not look for a
change.

STRATEGIES FOR EMPLOYEE RETENTION

1. Working environment
The primary employee retention strategies have to do with creating and
maintaining a workplace that attracts, retains and nourishes good people.
This covers a host of issues, ranging from developing a corporate mission,
culture and value system to insisting on a safe working environment and
creating clear, logical and consistent operating policies and procedures.

Environmental employee retention strategies address three fundamental

aspects of the workplace: the ethics and values foundation upon which the
organisation rests; the policies that interpret those values and translate them
into day-to-day actions, and the physical environment in which people work.
The overall goal is to make your company a place where people want to
come to work.
A sampling of environmental employee retention strategies includes the
following:

Clarify your mission.

Create a values statement.

Communicate positive feelings.

Stay focused on the customer.

Be fair and honest.

Cultivate a feeling of family.

Promote integrity.

Do not tolerate sub-par performance.

Insist on workplace safety.

Reduce the number of meetings.

Make work fun.

These employee retention strategies all relate in one way or another to

corporate culture. However, one environmental issue tends to stand out
above the rest.

More than ever, employees want a culture of openness and shared

information. They want to know where the company is going and what it will
look like in the future. How is the company doing financially? Where does it
stand in the marketplace?
Above all, employees insist on knowing how their specific jobs fit into the
grand scheme of things and what they can do to help the organisation get to
where it wants to go. If you operate in an open environment where managers
share information, you can expect reduced turnover rates.
To assess your culture's level of openness, ask questions such as:

Do our employees know how the company is doing in key areas such
as sales, financials, strategy and marketing?

Do we promote open-book management (or something approaching it),

or do we keep information a closely guarded secret among the top
management team?

Do employees understand our vision, mission and values?

Do we have a values statement that clarifies and supports a culture of

openness?

Do we give performance feedback on a regular basis or only at annual

review time?

Do we encourage individuals and departments to share information

with each other?

Take the pulse of your people on a regular basis. From time to time, bring in
an outside third party to get a more objective view of how your people really
feel. Find out if they really know the vision, mission and values. At the same
time, give employees plenty of information about how the company is

performing and where it is going. When people buy into your clearly stated
corporate values and have the information they need to get the job done,
they tend to stick around.

2. Employee relationship strategies

Employee relationship strategies have to do with how you treat your people
and how they treat each other. Developing effective employee relationship
strategies begins with three basic steps:

Give your managers and supervisors plenty of relationship

training. Recognise that (in all but the smallest companies) people
work for their supervisor, not you. Their pay cheque may say "XYZ
company", but their primary work relationship is with their supervisor.
If your supervisors have the knowledge, training and sensitivity to work
effectively with people on an individual level, you'll probably get the
bonding you need to retain employees.

Ask employees why they work for you. When you do, two things
happen. One, employees reinforce to themselves why they work for
you. Two, you gain a better understanding of what attracts people to
your company. You can then use that information to recruit new
employees, saying: "Here's why people work for us. If you value these
things, perhaps you ought to work for us, too."

Once you have the information about why people work for you, ask:
"What can we do to make things even better around here?" Do it in a
positive way so that it doesn't become a gripe session, then listen
closely to what your employees say. Out of these conversations will
come many good ideas, not only for improving conditions for your
employees but for all facets of your business.

Some top employee relationship strategies:

Use behavioural style assessment tools, such as Myers-Briggs or DISC,

to help people better understand themselves and each other and
communicate more effectively.

Help employees to set life goals and get focused on where they want
to go. Then help them to see how their goals match up with company
goals and that they can achieve their goals by staying with the
company. If people believe they can achieve their goals and objectives

by working in your organisation, they will think twice before going

somewhere else to work.

Whenever possible, get the family involved:

o

Write a letter of commendation and send a copy to the family.

Write a letter to the family thanking them for supporting your

employee.

Have an open house. Invite the families for a tour to see what
the spouse/parent does.

Hold social activities such as family picnics, holiday parties,

special events.

Celebrate birthdays.

Take people out to dinner to celebrate an achievement.

Hold public celebrations when the company hits major

milestones.

Other employee relationship strategies that impact employee retention:

Build mentoring relationships with people to increase their emotional

ties to the organisation.

Be firm and fair. Avoid second-guessing employees.

Celebrate longevity.

Encourage humour in the workplace.

Focus on building individual self-esteem.

Stick up for your people.

Give recognition strategically and deliberately.

Ultimately, employee relationship strategies help to build a sense of family.

In families, people have conflict and disagreements but they learn how to
work them out. They stick together through good times and bad and support
each other's growth. Families have an "all for one and one for all" mentality.
It's a lot harder to leave a family than to leave somewhere where you just go
to work.
3. Employee support strategies
Employee support strategies involve giving people the tools and equipment
to get the job done. When people feel they have what they need to perform,
job satisfaction increases dramatically. All employee support strategies stem
from three basic principles:

People want to excel.

People need adequate resources to get the job done.

People need moral and mental support from you and your managers.

Employee support strategies start with your and your managers' attitudes.
Do you see employees merely as cogs in a wheel, or as valuable resources
that make the company go? Do you expect high performance or mediocrity
from them? Believing that people want to excel (they do!) rather than
perform at minimum levels will lead you to treat them in a much more
positive manner.
Information is another key area in employee support strategies. The more
information you give people about what they are doing, what the company is
about and why you do things the way you do, the more valuable it becomes.

Help people to understand all the nuances of their jobs. Why is what they do
important to the company? What are the expectations of the customer?
Let people know what is going on. Give them sales figures and some of the
financials. You don't have to disclose salaries and other sensitive information,
but let them see performance measurements, particularly as they affect their
jobs.
Other employee support strategies include:

Give people productive work to do.

Provide challenges.

Remove obstacles and barriers to getting the job done.

Adjust jobs to fit strengths, abilities and talents.

Keep the promises you make.

Establish effective communication systems.

Clearly define job responsibilities and accountabilities.

Encourage people to take initiative.

Encourage, recognise and reward creativity and innovation.

Avoid micro-management.

Reduce reporting requirements.

When possible, offer job flexibility.

4. Employee growth strategies

Employee growth strategies deal with personal and professional growth.

Good employees want to develop new knowledge and skills in order to
improve their value in the marketplace and enhance their own self-esteem.
However, don't just "throw" education and training at your people in a
random fashion. Instead, organise and structure your training so that it
makes sense for the company and the individuals who work for you.
Take time to explore your employees' different needs and the best way to
meet those needs. There are many ways to help your people with personal
growth that not only make a difference in their lives, but bond them more
closely to the organisation.
Training and education can include:

in-house curriculum for skills training and development

outside seminars and workshops

paying for college and continuing education

CD/DVD, podcast and online learning

cross-training

having employees present workshops in their areas of expertise

bringing in outside experts to educate employees about subjects that

affect their personal lives.

The last bullet point above offers a real opportunity for employers to
differentiate themselves and have a big impact on employee retention. For
example, most people own a car. Yet, how many really know how to buy car

insurance? Set up a brown-bag lunch that teaches people the ins and outs of
car insurance and how to get the best buy.
When you offer these kinds of learning opportunities, it sets you apart from
other employers and shows that you truly care about your employees. It's
one thing to provide training that helps them to do a better job because your
company benefits from it. It's another thing altogether to offer education on
how employees can improve their lives. They don't expect that. It shows that
you care about them as people, not just as workers who can make money for
you.
Other recommended employee support strategies include:

Establish a learning culture.

Create individual learning plans.

Encourage people to join professional and trade associations.

Invest in career planning.

Operate a corporate mentoring programme.

Provide incentives for learning.

Take advantage of internet learning.

5. Employee compensation strategies

Effective employee compensation strategies stem from one fundamental
principle: money alone will not retain most employees. In the old days,
companies essentially paid people for their time. Today, more and more
companies pay for performance in every position, not just sales. To retain
employees, your compensation plan needs to incorporate this trend.

Pay-for-performance plans come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but they all
involve two basic activities: defining the job and checking performance
against expectations.
When people exceed expectations, give them a bonus. It helps to lay the
plan out ahead of time so that employees understand your expectations and
know what they have to do to get the bonus. But make sure you base it on
predefined profit goals, so that you don't pay out if the company doesn't
make money.
If you're not offering some type of incentive or pay-for-performance plan,
you're putting your company at a terrible disadvantage.
Smart employers use a variety of hard (monetary) and soft (non-monetary)
employee compensation strategies to make it difficult for other companies to
steal their people away. These include:

Discuss total employee compensation (salary, benefits, bonuses,

training, etc.).

Design reward systems to stimulate employee involvement.

Use flexible employee benefits to respond to a changing workforce.

Offer stock options.

Offer time off, sabbaticals and other forms of non-financial employee

compensation.

Provide childcare and/or eldercare.

Provide employee assistance programmes.

Arrange for discounts on purchases.

Arrange for professional services.

Fund fitness club memberships.

Keep in mind that employee compensation constitutes only one piece of the
puzzle. If all the other pieces the environmental, relationship, support and
growth strategies don't fit together into one interlocking whole, you won't
be able to pay people enough to work for you.

ROLE OF HR IN EMPLOYEE RETENTION

The Human Resource team plays an important role in employee
retention:
Whenever an employee resigns from his current assignments, it is the
responsibility of the HR to intervene immediately to find out the reasons
which prompted the employee to resign. No one leaves an organization
without a reason. There has to be one and the human resource team must
probe into it. There can be innumerable reasons for an employee to leave
his current job. The major ones being conflict with the superiors, lesser
salary, lack of growth, negative ambience and so on.
1. It is the duty of the HR to sit with the employee and discuss the
various issues face to face. Understand his problems and listen to
his side of the story as well. Remember the HR should not focus on
conducting exit interviews, rather more emphasis should be laid on
retaining the employees.
2. Try to provide a solution to his problem. Hiring is a tedious process
and it is really very difficult to recruit the right candidate and train
him once again. Do check the track record of the employee who

wishes to move on. It is really essential for the management to

retain those employees who have the potential and are really
indispensable for the organization. If they leave and join the
competitors; the organization would be at loss. If one feels that the
employee is not very happy with his team leader, try to shift him to
a new team. If the employee feels his salary is not justified, try to
give him a hike but make sure he is worth it and you dont end up
upsetting others.
3. The HR person must ensure that he is recruiting the right employee
who actually fits into the role. A right person doing the wrong job
would never find his job interesting and certainly look for a change.
Make sure every individual has been assigned responsibilities
according to his specialization and interest. The employees must be
clear with their KRAs from the very beginning. Every individual
works for money and the HR must quote a justified salary
acceptable to the other person. Dont compel anyone to join at a
lesser salary. He might join at that moment but would most likely
quit after sometime. The hike should be on the present salary and
must match the market trends and the expectations of the
individual.
4. The human resource department must conduct motivational
activities at the workplace. Organize various internal as well as
external trainings which help the employees to learn something
extra apart from their routine work. Make them participate in
extracurricular activities important for their overall development.
Encourage them to interact with each other so that the comfort
level increases.
5. The HR must launch various incentive schemes for the top
performers to motivate them. This way the employees feel

important for the organization and strive hard to perform even

better the next time. The employees who show promise should be
awarded with cash prizes, lucrative perks and certificates to make
the individual stand apart from the crowd. Send a mail wishing the
employees on their birthdays or congratulating them when they
perform exceptionally well or come out with something innovative.
Arrange a small bouquet for them as a gift from the organizations
side. This way the employees feel attached to the organization and
are reluctant to look for a change. A friendly atmosphere is essential
for the employees to feel safe and secure. Make them participate in
various management decision making.
6. Performance reviews are a must. The HR along with the respective
team leaders must monitor their team members performance to
ensure whether they are enjoying the work or not. The employees
look for a change only when their job becomes monotonous and
does not offer any growth or learning. Job rotation can be one of the
effective ways to retain employees.
7. The HR professional must try his level best to motivate the
employees, make them feel special in the organization so that they
do not look for a change.

The Employee Life cycle of Retention

This involves application of various solution options at each stage of
employee life cycle, thereby enlivening the key touch points for relationship
enhancement between the organization and the employee.

The Three Rs of Employee Retention

To keep employees and keep satisfaction high, firms need to implement each
of the
three Rs of employee retention: respect, recognition, and rewards.

RECOGTNWASPDI
Respect is esteem, special regard, or particular consideration given to
people. As

the pyramid shows, respect is the foundation of keeping your employees.

Recognition and rewards will have little effect if you dont respect
employees.

Recognition is defined as special notice or attention and the act of

perceiving
clearly. Many problems with retention and morale occur because
management is
not paying attention to peoples needs and reactions.
Rewards are the extra perks you offer beyond the basics of respect and
recognition that make it worth peoples while to work hard, to care, to go
beyond
the call of duty. While rewards represent the smallest portion of the retention
equation, they are still an important one.
Companies determine the precise methods you choose to implement the
three Rs, but in
general, respect should be the largest component of their efforts. Without it,
recognition and rewards seem hollow and have little effector they have
negative
effects.
The magic truly is in the mix of the three. When companies implement the
three Rs approach, they will reduce turnover and enjoy the following:
Increased productivity
Reduced absenteeism
A more pleasant work environment (for both employees and
employer)
Improved profits
Furthermore, an employer who implements the three Rs will create a hard-toleave

workplace, one known as having more to offer employees than other

employers. Firm become a hard-to-leave workplaceone with a waiting list
of
applicants for any position that becomes availablepurposefully, one day at
a
time.

KEis EMPLOYEE RETENTION WHEEL

KEI model says that," The first step to improving your employee retention is
to understand why employees stay with their current employer. Many
"experts" dwell on the reasons employees leave, which is not as important or
revealing as the reasons they stay. Companies have tried many different
programs and perks to holding onto good employees. However, studies show
that these efforts are not enough to retain good employees when the support
that is needed to achieve job success is not adequate."
Don't Waste Your Money on Things That Don't Make a Difference...
Among the countless inducements offered, only those identified in the center
of KEi's Employee Retention Wheel are truly what give employees a
consistent reason for saying "no thank you" when tempted with a "sweeter
offer." After years of study and experience, KEi has determined, and
presented in the Retention Wheel, what factors do have the greatest impact
on keeping employees.
KEi has used this information to give employers the tools to meet the core
needs that keep employees successful at their jobs, thus reducing the high
costs associated with unwanted employee turnover.

Using the Wheel to Improve Employee Retention

KEi's Employee Retention Strategy is based upon two primary beliefs:
(1) It is difficult for employers to retain good employees if they don't have
a process to hire the right people in the first place.
(2) Retention processes must directly support the reasons that successful,
satisfied employees stay.
KEi's concentration on the center of the Employee Retention Wheel provides
employers with Internet-based tools that give employees systematic,
ongoing support to be successful in their work and satisfied with their
employment.

Factors That Affect Employee Retention

Most managers understand the importance of employee retention and its
impact on the overall health and vitality of an organization. The importance
of retaining top organizational talent will only increase over the coming years
as the massive cohort of baby boomers begin to reach retirement age
making it easy for younger employees to find work.
1. Shorten the feedback loop Do not wait for an annual performance
evaluation to come due to give feedback on how an employee is
performing. Most team members enjoy frequent feedback about how
they are performing. Shortening the feedback loop will help to keep
performance levels high and will reinforce positive behavior.
2. Offer a competitive compensation package Any team member
wants to feel that he or she is being paid appropriately and fairly for
the work he or she does. Be sure to research what other companies
and organizations are offering in terms of salary and benefits.

3. Balance work and personal life The family is incredibly important

to team members. When work begins to put a significant strain on
one's family no amount of money will keep an employee around. Stress
the importance of balancing work and one's personal life.
4. Beware of burnout Staff adequately to reduce the amount of
unwanted overtime a team member must work. Some employees
enjoy the extra money that accompanies overtime hours, while others
would rather spend their time with their families or doing other
activities they enjoy. Burnout can be a leading cause of turnover.
Recognize the warning signs and give employees a break when they
need it.
5. Provide opportunities for growth and development Offer
opportunities for team members to acquire new skills and knowledge
useful to the organization. If an employee appears to be bored or
burned out in a current position offer to train this individual in another
facet of the organization where he or she would be a good fit. Nobody
wants to feel stuck in their position will no possibility for advancement
or new opportunities.
6. The ability to provide input and be taken seriously Everybody
has opinions and ideas, some are better than others. However, every
team member wants to feel that their input is welcome and will be
taken seriously without ridicule or condescension. Some of the greatest
ideas can come from the most unlikely of places and people. Creating a
culture where the input is welcome at all level of the organizational
chart will help your organization grow and encourage employee
retention.
7. Management must take the time to get to know team members
It's not a big surprise that one of the greatest complaints that
employees express in exit interviews is a feeling that management
didn't know they existed. Nobody wants to feel like just another spoke

in a big wheel. Managers are very busy - everybody is busy, but it is

crucial that managers and supervisors take the time get to know the
team members who work under them. Learn and remember a team
member's name, what skills and talents they bring to the table, and
what their business interests are. The time spent by management
getting to know team members is well invested and can eliminate the
headaches caused by having to continually hire and re-train new
employees.
8. Provide the tools and training an employee needs to succeed
Nothing can be more frustrating to an employee than a lack of training
or the proper tools to successfully complete his or her duties. You
wouldn't try to build a house without a hammer, so why should an
office job be any different? Providing a team member with the tools
and training she needs to be successful shows a commitment and
investment in that employee and will encourage the team member to
stay with the organization.
9. Make use of a team member's talents, skills, and abilities All
team members have knowledge, skills, and abilities that aren't directly
related to their job description but are still useful to an organization.
Utilizing a team member's talents in areas other than their current
position will indicate to an employee that management appreciates
and recognizes all that an employee has to offer to the organization.
This can also provide work variety and helps to break up the everyday
grind of work.
10.

Never threaten a team member's job or income While

threatening an employee with termination or demotion might seem like

a surefire way to get the results needed from him or her, doing so will
likely cause the employee to leave the organization. Put yourself in the
employee's shoes, what is the first thing you would do if your job was
threatened? Odds are you would probably update your resume and
start checking for open job postings expecting the worst. If a team

member's performance is not what you had hoped it would be, work
with that team member on ways to improve his performance, saving
termination only as a last resort.

CHALLENGES TO EMPLOYEE RETENTION

Monetary dissatisfaction is one of the major reasons for an employee to look
for a change. Every organization has a salary budget for every employee
which can be raised to some extent but not beyond a certain limit. Retention
becomes a problem when an employee quotes an exceptionally high figure
beyond the budget of the organization and is just not willing to compromise.
The organization needs to take care of the interests of the other
employees as well and cant afford to make them angry. The salaries of
the individuals working at the same level should be more or less similar to
avoid major disputes amongst employees.
A high potential employee is always the center of attention at every
workplace but one should not take any undue advantage. One should
understand the limitation of the management and quote something which
matches the budget of the organization. An individual should not be
adamant on a particular figure, otherwise it becomes difficult for the
organization to retain him. Remember there is a room for negotiation
everywhere.
1. In the current scenario, where there is no dearth of
opportunities, stopping people to look for a change is a big
challenge. Every organization tries its level best to hire employees
from the competitors and thus provide lucrative opportunities to
attract them. Employees become greedy for money and position and
thus look forward to changing the present job and join the competitors.

No amount of counseling helps in such cases and retaining employees

becomes a nightmare.
2. Individuals speak all kind of lies during interviews to get a job.
They might not be proficient in branding but would simply say a yes to
impress the recruiter and grab the job. It is only later do people realize
that there has been a mismatch and thus look for a change. Problems
arise whenever a right person is into a wrong profile. An individual
loses interest in work whenever he does something out of compulsion.
The human resource department should be very careful while
recruiting new employees. It is really important to get the reference
check done for better reliability and avoid confusions later.
3. Some individuals have a tendency to get bored in a short span
of time. They might find a job really interesting in the beginning but
soon find it monotonous and look for a change. The management finds
it difficult to convince the employees in such cases.
4. Individuals must also understand that every organization has some or
the other problem and adjustment is required everywhere, so why not
in the present organization? It becomes really difficult for the HR
Department to find out what exactly is going on in the minds of the
individual. An individual should voice his opinions clearly to make
things easier for the management.
5. Unrealistic expectations from the job also lead to employees
looking for a change. There is actually no solution to unrealistic
expectations. An individual must be mature enough to understand that
one cant get all the comforts at the workplace just like his home.
Individuals from different backgrounds come together in an
organization and minor misunderstandings might arise but one should
not make an issue out of it.

INTERVIEW WITH IDEA CELLULAR:

As per Mr. Ketan Bhatt, the Senior HR Manager of Idea Cellullar, "to retain
employees it is very important to give them a feeling of belongingness in the
company". Several questions related to employee retention were asked and
the responses recorded as below:
Q1. What are the main 3 reasons for employees leaving job in
your organization?
1. More Money in some other firm
2. Better Designation in some other firm
3. Desire to do something completely different - boredom of
current work, wanting to work for "the other side of the fence",
creating your own business, or entering a radically changing new
market
Q2. Is the employee attrition a regular challenge for your
organization?
It is a usual thing and we are used to the fact that certain people will
leave due to their personal desires, family needs etc even if special
measures are taken to retain them. Our job is to ensure that we have
the best people taking their place.
Q3. Does your organisation make it mandatory for your
employee to serve a notice period?
Yes, we have a notice period of 2 months for permanent employees
and 1 month for others.
Q4. What is the duration of your notice period?
1. 30 days
2. 45 days

3. 60 days
4. more
5. none
60 days

Q5. What are the various retention policies adopted by your

company to reduce attrition rate?
1. Theres a weekly meeting of every department where the employees
are asked what their expectations are from the company to make the
atmosphere and climate joyful.
2. After every 15 days one day FUN TRIP is conducted (within 50-70
Kms) from the company. Places like tourist resorts, Hill Station etc
where the employee can have fun and relax from their regular work.
The destination of the fun trip is decided by the employee themselves.
The expense is held by the company.
3. Annual Day The annual day is on 24th December every year. Every
employee gets a gift voucher, Lunch at some good hotel and a fun tour
to Essel world or water Kingdom etc.
4. Annually they also have interdepartmental matches like Cricket
Matches, Volleyball Matches etc to improve team building and feeling
of belongingness.

5. Culture: Duriing every Indian festival theres a big celebration. For

Example: On Diwali they enjoy sweets and crackers with traditional
dresses.
6. Departmental Lunch: Everyday one dept have lunch together. Each
and every member of that Department eat and drink together. This
helps in improving the team spirit and the feeling of belongingness
with each other.
7. AWARDS:
a.

Every week one worker is honored based on the performance of

the worker.

This improves their morale and encourages them to

work harder
b.

Every month one employee is honored as Employee of the Mont

c.

Annually one employee is honored as Employee of the year.

Their names are declared on the Noticeboard and company
magazine which encourages others also to work better.

8. New employees joining the company are given a training of 8-10 days.
The training consists of induction and orientation program along with a 2day trip. This is a good ice breaking session and helps them to know their
colleague. The lasts two days training is conducted at the actual job site.
9. Higher education: If any employee wishes for higher education the
company sends the employee for training and encourages them to
study hard.
10.

The company provides the facility of all indoor games along with

a Swimming pool for the refreshment of the employee. Ex. Table

Tennis, Chess, Badminton, Snooker, etc.

11.

Quarterly the MD does performance appraisal of every LINE

and checks which line has achieved production as per expectation or

more than that. All the members of the line are given gifts and their
names

are

displayed

in

the

annual

company

magazine.

encourages the Line members to work hard and efficiently.

This

Suggestions:
1. Employee should be provided with proper training.
2. Employee should be appreciated for good work.
3. Employee should be motivated to welcome the change.
4. If any changes are brought in to software or any module is added
then proper
training should be given.

Conclusion:
1. Retention is an important concept that has been receiving considerable
attention from academicians, researchers and practicing HR managers.
2. In its essence, Retention comprises important elements such as the
need or content, search and choice of strategies, goal-directed
behavior, social comparison of rewards, reinforcement, and
performance-satisfaction.
3. Motivated employees come out with new ways of doing jobs. They are
quality oriented. They are more productive. Any technology needs
motivated employees to adopt it successfully.
4. Several approaches to Retention are available. Early theories are too
simplistic in their approach towards Retention. For example, advocates
of scientific Management believe that money is the motivating factor.
The Human Relations Movement posits that social contacts will
motivate workers. Mere knowledge about the theories of Retention will
not help manage their subordinates. They need to have certain
techniques that help them change the behavior of employees. One
such technique is reward. Reward, particularly money, is a motivator
according to need-based and process theories of Retention. For the

behavioral scientists, however, money is not important as a motivator.

Whatever may be the arguments, it can be stated that money can
influence some people in certain circumstance.
5. Being an outgrowth of Herzbergs, two factor theory of Retention, job
enrichment is considered to be a powerful motivator. An enriched job
has added responsibilities. The makes the job interesting and
rewarding. Job enlargement refers to adding a few more task elements
horizontally.
6. Task variety helps motivate job holders. Job rotation involves shifting
an incumbent from one job to another.

Recommendations
1. Develop an attractive employee value proposition.
An employee value proposition means that your company has something
attractive to offer that is perceived as valuable to an employee. as an
employer, you must understand what makes your organization attractive to
potential recruits and current employees.
2. Create a total reward structure that includes more than compensation.
Every company should have all the normal compensation mechanisms
common to their type of employment. yet, total rewards packages go far
beyond money.
3. Give feedback on employee performance on a regular basis.
Most managers and employees are not enamored with the performance
appraisal process in their organization. yet, an effective performance
management process serves many purposes. Ongoing performance feedback
allows employees to better know where they stand, gives them a formal
means to provide input, indicates that their managers

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1) HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BY DAVID, STEPHEN, SUSAN.
2) Creating Commitment: How to attract and Retain Talented Employees
by Building Relationships That Last by Michael O'Malley
3) http://www.pagepersonnel.co.uk/staff-retention.html
4) EMPLOYEE RELATIONS MANAGEMENT BY SINGH AND NEERAJ KUMAR.
5) WEBSITES: keepemployees.com, google.com
6) PROF. J.K. JAINs lectures and notes.